50 
SURVEY OF tHE INTERTROPICAL 
1821. our return, perfectly satisfied with the success of 
July 28. our labours : we were at this time about fifty 
miles from the sea. 
The ebb-tide had fallen for an hour when we 
passed the first falls, but there was no appear- 
ance of that violence which we witnessed in the 
morning ; probably because the stream had not 
reached its strength. 
An alligator was seen on our return, swimming 
within two yards of the boat, and a musquet, 
charged with a ball and buck-shot, was uselessly 
fired at it. The appearance of these animals in 
the water is very deceptions ; they lie quite mo- 
tionless, and resemble a branch of a tree floating 
with the tide ; the snout, the eye, and some of 
the ridges of the back and tail, being the only 
parts that are seen. The animal that we fired 
at was noticed for some time, but considered to 
be only a dead branch, although we were look- 
ing out for alligators, and approached within 
six yards of it before we found out our mistake : 
the length of this animal was from twelve to 
fifteen feet; I do not think that we have ever 
seen one more than twenty feet long. 
We reached the cascade by four o’clock, and 
remained there until our boats arrived for a 
second cargo of water, which was at midnight ; 
